New Delhi, Lucknow: Even as she came under attack in Parliament over the communal violence in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati today held a rally in Lucknow in a big show of strength and slammed the Congress for pushing the Women's Reservation Bill.

Calling the Congress anti-Dalit, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader announced that demonstrations will be staged against the bill across the country on April 14, birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar.

The rally held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the BSP and attended by tens of thousands of people came under intense attack from Mayawati's arch rival, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"While Bareilly is on fire, the Mayawati government is spending Rs200 crore of public money on a rally," Yadav said in the Lok Sabha.

Yadav was joined by Congress and BJP members in demanding the Centre's intervention to bring back normalcy in the riot-hit town. They attacked the chief minister for her government's handling of the situation. The Union home ministry has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the circumstances that led to the situation in Bareilly.

Blue, the colour of the BSP, dominated Lucknow's cityscape ahead of the rally, touted as the biggest ever in the state.

Hitting back at the opposition parties criticising her for installing her own statues throughout the state, Mayawati said the law does not prevent one from erecting statues of living persons.

In her address, the chief minister said, "The Congress and other political parties have always been against Dalits and this is evident from the fact that no separate quota has been carved out for SC/ST women in the 33% reservation proposed in the Women's Reservation Bill."

"From all those people criticising installation of my statues, I would like to ask them in which book of law has it been written that statues of living persons cannot be erected," Mayawati said.

She said her statues were being installed as per the written will of BSP founder Kanshi Ram.

"Kanshi Ramji in his will has directed me to install my statues along with those of him," she claimed.

"The Congress people claim themselves to be the biggest sympathisers of women and are praising Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. In reality, whatever rights women have got in the field of education, employment and politics, it is due to Ambedkar," she said.

During zero hour In the Lok Sabha, Yadav raised the issue of the violence in Bareilly, which has been under curfew for a fortnight. "What did the state government do to prevent it and bring it under control?" he asked.

His party colleague, Shailendra Kumar, sought the Centre's intervention and demanded a statement on the situation.

Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav, who criticised the state government for preventing political leaders from visiting the town and nearby areas, said the Centre should make a statement on the situation today itself.

"In the last 10 years, Bareilly was never under curfew for 14 continuous days," he said.

Joining the attack on the Mayawati government, Jagdambika Pal, Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh, said, "The state government has failed on the law and order front and it appears to be helpless. The Centre should intervene."

BJP members were agitated that Maneka Gandhi, who represents nearby Aonla, was not allowed to have her say despite repeated pleas.

---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Indian human rights group Janodayam has asked for internationalsupport to help dalit (former lower caste) people, after receivingthis year's Bishop Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Award in Korea.

"Every day, three dalit people are killed, three dalit women are rapedand 15 dalit houses are burnt. Simply because we are dalit who aresupposed to be 'impure and polluted' by birth, according to Hinduscripture," said Jesuit Father Lourdunathan Yesumarian, who is also adalit.

"People talk about human rights but we, dalit, fight for the right tobe human," said the secretary of the Janodayam Social Education Centerin Chennai, India.

"But we really need help and solidarity from the internationalcommunity to overcome such cruel discrimination," he said.

He was speaking to 170 people from various human rights and Churchgroups at the Tji Hak-soon Justice and Peace Foundation's annual awardceremony in Seoul.

The award honors the late Bishop Daniel Tji of Wonju, who campaignedagainst Korea's former military rulers and was introduced in 1997. Itincludes a US$10,000 cash prize.

Janodayam means "those who rise up for revolution".

The organization was founded in Chennai in 1984 by dalit to supportothers in the former lower caste.

"Despite the fact I am a Catholic priest and lawyer, I have beenarrested four times and imprisoned three times," Father Yesumariansaid. "Once I was stripped naked and tortured by police for 14 hours.Can you imagine what has happened to ordinary dalit people?"

The foundation recognized the group's efforts in helping organizingand promoting awareness among the dalit and in providing leadership inefforts to protect their rights.

It also noted that Janodayam has greatly contributed to promotingdalit issues in society and bringing the plight of the dalit people tothe attention of the international community.

Monsignor Phillip Kim Byeong-sang, chairman of the foundation, praisedJanodayam for bringing hope to the world amid power struggles,untruths and hypocrisy.

He offered encouragement by saying the election of Meira Kumar, adalit, as the first woman speaker of the Indian House of the Peoplelast year, was a symbolic event for dalit and women's rights.

Father Yesumarian told UCA News that "once you are born a dalit youremain one forever. Of India's some 1.2 billion population, 270million are dalit who are segregated and discriminated against, evenin the Catholic Church."

He called for the "Korean government and the bishops' conference toput pressure on their Indian counterparts because it is a human rightsissue, not merely a domestic or national issue."

Born in Punjab in 1934, Kanshi Ram was the eldest of eight siblings. His upbringing was modest: he studied up to graduation, and there was nothing in his early years to suggest that there was a silent political and social revolutionary lurking within.

It was only after he took up a government job in the western Indian state of Maharashtra that he began to be influenced by the writings and political philosophy of BR Ambedkar, a social reformer and architect of free India's constitution.

Mr Ambedkar voiced the concerns of India's low caste community - particularly Dalits - in the run up to the country's independence. In the mid-1960s, Kanshi Ram began to organise Dalit government employees to fight against what he saw as the deeply entrenched prejudice of higher caste people.

It was around this time that he decided that he would not marry but dedicate his life to the cause of Dalit improvement. By the mid-1980s, he decided to take the plunge into active politics.

The result was the formation of the BSP (the Common Man's Party) in 1984. As a politician, he soon began to attract national attention even though he was not renowned for his oratorical skills or for his personal charisma.

He excelled however as a master strategist and organiser, and used these strengths to carve out a niche for Dalits. This was done using an often combative and aggressive strategy, with virulent attacks on other political parties which he claimed only represented the interests of higher caste Hindus.

---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters marked the 25th anniversary Monday of a political party representing India's lowest castes and feted its flamboyant and bejeweled leader as a "goddess" who leads the country's largest state. The rally reflected the spectacular rise of Mayawati, a 54-year-old former school teacher, as much as the political clout of her Bahujan Samaj Party. Since 2007 elections, the party has governed Uttar Pradesh, home to 180 million people. Mayawati managed that by forging an unlikely electoral alliance with the state's upper castes.

Although accused of amassing huge wealth through corruption and building lavish memorials for her party, Mayawati, who goes by just one name, commands an enormous vote base among the Dalits, who are at the bottom of Hinduism's caste hierarchy.

Dressed in peach silk and adorned with diamonds, Mayawati, a Dalit, addressed hundreds of thousands who had crowded Monday into an enormous tented area in the state capital Lucknow. Most were Dalits, who make up about 25 percent of the state's population.

"I am proud of the Dalit people. Whenever I have needed them, they have supported me. I will not let their heads hang in shame until my death," Mayawati said to loud cheers.

The rally brought the city to a virtual standstill. Blue decorations _ the party's color _ were everywhere: flags, fountains gushing dyed water, lights and elephants _ the party's symbol. Graffiti splashed on walls warned "anti-Dalits" not to mess with Mayawati.

"This rally is a show of strength for Mayawati to send a message across India that she is no pushover," said S.P. Pandey, a local political analyst.

But her party, which was founded by Mayawati's political mentor Kanshi Ram, has yet to replicate its success in Uttar Pradesh on the national stage. It is part of the opposition bloc and has just 20 members in the 545-member lower house of Parliament.

While she champions the poor, Mayawati's political opponents and critics have accused her of accruing collections of diamond jewelry and homes. Government officials line up to pay respects on her birthday, which she named "Dalit Self-Respect Day." She has also spent more than 23 billion rupees ($500 million) _ four times her state's health budget _ building pink sandstone statues to honor herself and other party leaders.

But to her followers, her conspicuous consumption is often seen as sign that one of their own has breached India's formidable caste system to reach high political office.

"For us, she is a Goddess. She has empowered us. Given us voice which now people are listening to," said Jawitri Devi, a poor women in a dirty sari, who took her grandson to the rally.

Baburam Kushwaha, a senior party official, denied claims from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party that over 2 billion rupees ($43 million) of state money had been spent on the day's festivities in Lucknow. He said the party footed the bill.

---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

Attributing the moves to freeze the Bahujan Samaj Party's electionsymbol to a conspiracy backed by the opposition parties, the UttarPradesh Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati has rejected the suggestion thatthe elephant statues erected in parks and memorials to Dalit iconswere related to her party's election symbol.

In the statues the elephants have been shown in "swagat mudra" (welcome posture ) with their snouts up, whereas the elephant in theBSP's symbol has been shown with its snout down, Ms. Mayawati said.

Making a frontal assault on the Congress, the BSP president said ifthe elephant statues could be brought to the notice of the ElectionCommission on the ground that the jumbo is party's symbol, noticeshould also be taken of the Congress' symbol of the 'hand' and theSamajwadi Party's symbol, 'cycle.'

Addressing a massive rally on the occasion of 25 years BSP's existenceand the birth anniversary of its founder, Kanshi Ram, at the RamabaiAmbedkar Maidan here on Monday, Ms. Mayawati said the ElectionCommission should take a hard look at the Congress and SP's symbols.

Cycles were being distributed to the beneficiaries of the SavitribaiPhule Scheme for girls launched by the BSP Government and the hand wasused by leaders of all political parties to welcome people, the UttarPradesh Chief Minister said. "In that case the hand and cycle symbolsshould be de-registered," Ms. Mayawati remarked.

Significantly, the BSP has to submit its reply on a petition filedagainst the elephant statues with the poll panel on March 18.

Ms. Mayawati further justified the erection of her own statues whenshe said, "Is there any law in the country which bans building statuesof living leaders and whether funds can be spent only on erectingstatues of dead leaders and not the living ones?". She said statues ofJawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have been erectedthroughout the country by the Congress and several schemes, colleges,universities, airports, railway stations and roads using governmentfunds have been named after them.

Ms. Mayawati added that in 63 years since Independence crores havebeen spent on building memorials and museums of Gandhi-Nehru family.But, when statues and memorials to Mr. Kanshi Ram and other icons arebuilt, the BSP Government has been charged by the opposition withmisusing government money, Ms. Mayawati said.

In her 90 minute long address Ms. Mayawati trained her guns on theCongress and dubbed it as anti-Dalit, which supported the castesystem. She blamed the Congress regimes for the corruption in UttarPradesh and inter-related problems, and accused the UPA Government forstalling the state's development by not releasing the Central funds.She said the BSP had achieved much more in the 25 years of itsexistence than the 125 year old Congress could gain in the first 21years of its formation.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister accused the Congress and theopposition parties of trying to finish the BSP in the last 25 years bymaking baseless allegations against Mr. Kanshi Ram and engineering asplit in the party. She also mentioned the moves to corner her in theTaj Corridor and disproportionate assets case. Ms. Mayawati expressedthe satisfaction that despite the opposition tirade, she had managedto strengthen the BSP movement. The BSP president cautioned the partyworkers against the designs of the Congress, which, she said is tryingto regain power in U.P.

The BSP rally was one of the biggest seen in recent years in Lucknowwith the party workers present from all parts of the country. Voicingher opposition to the Women's Reservation Bill in its present, Ms.Mayawati announced that dharna and demonstration would be held at thedistruct headquarters on April 14.

She also threatened to launch a countrywide agitation if the priceswere not brought down by the Centre.

HYDERABAD: A new demand for creation of `Manya Seema,' a separateState comprising areas predominantly dominated by tribal populationand extending from Adilabad to Srikakulam district, and its advocacyby Prof Kancha Ilaiah has not gone down well with the students ofOsmania University who are fighting for a separate statehood forTelangana.A group of OU students today laid siege to Ilaiah's residence atTarnaka and cornered him for raising the voice of a tribal State. Theactivists wrote on the apartment walls slogans in favour of separateTelangana and against `Manya Seema' after taking on the politicalscience professor.Nearly 20 students stormed into the apartment of Ilaiah and demandedthat he withdraw the `Manya Seema' demand which he voiced at a timewhen the agitation for Telangana State was at its peak. The studentsdemanded that the professor support separate Telangana and raise theslogan of `Jai Telangana.' Taken aback, Ilaiah reportedly chanted `JaiSamajika Telangana' but that too did not go down well with thestudents who said that the same slogan was taken up by Praja RajyamParty (PRP) but was later dumped by the party. Ilaiah then reportedlyraised the slogan of `Jai BC Telangana' too which did not pacify thestudents and they forced the professor to raise `Jai Telangana' sloganin the end.The professor, however, insisted that a at least separate district becreated for tribals if separate Telangana is carved out, to which thestudents agreed.``We don't mind Ilaiah leading the ongoing Telangana movement. But weare against the Manya Seema or any other slogan,'' OU Students JointAction Committee (JAC) leader Manavatha Ray said.The students left the place after painting the walls of the entireapartment with slogans of `Jai Telangana' and `Manya Seema vaddura (Wedon't want Manya Seema).

In a bid to reach out to the Matuas, a Dalit community in West Bengal, Railway minister Mamata Banerjee this evening went to their annual religious meet at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district in a special train.

Banerjee, who sought the blessings of their religious head after reaching Thakurnagar locality, earlier had got honorary membership of Sara Bharat Matua Maha Sangha, a forum consisting well-wishers from within the sect as well as outside.

The Trinamool Congress supremo, who was accompanied by the local MLA, also took 'prasad' after offering prayer at the main temple, having idol of the founder of the sect.

Banerjee promised every possible help to the members of the sect who had mostly migrated from Bangladesh after partition.

Over two lakh devotees were attending the religious meet which began on Saturday.

---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/

PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com

TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/

SAN FRANCISCO — A pro-affirmative action group is renewing efforts tooverturn the California law that prohibits public universities fromconsidering race in student admissions.

Attorneys for Michigan-based By Any Means Necessary filed aclass-action lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Oakland. Itchallenges the constitutionality of the ballot measure approved by thestate's voters in 1996.

Both a federal appeals court and the California Supreme Court haverebuffed earlier challenges to the law, known as Proposition 209.

The complaint says a pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings in affirmativeaction cases since those earlier decisions warrant another effort toinvalidate the part of Proposition 209 that deals with universityadmissions. The law also barred racial preferences in governmenthiring and contracts.

'Namma Debian', the localised version of the Debian GNU/Linuxoperating system, was released at this slum computing centre. Photo:Special Arrangement.Even tech-savvy computer users often fail to grasp the concept of FreeSoftware, or fathom the philosophy behind it. However, in thisnon-descript slum settlement located diametrically behind thehigh-rise IT office buildings on Bannerghatta Road, there isremarkable clarity and awareness on Software freedom.

Tucked away at the end of a crowded lane, the Ambedkar CommunityComputing Center (AC3) hosted an unusual programme on Sunday evening.A motley crowd of software professionals, free software enthusiasts,students and residents gathered to create music, share information andperspective, and officially release 'Namma Debian', the Kannadaversion of Linux distribution system. 'Namma Debian' is the localisedversion of Debian GNU/Linux, a popular and stable free operatingsystem -- that runs your computer and comes bundled with a set ofprogramme utilities that are all from the Free, GNU/Linux stable.

The evening was marked by festivities. The crowded gullies came alivewith music and dance. While a local music troupe led by a residentArul got the crowd dancing to popular Tamil songs, a group of fouryoung girls lit up the rickety stage with some folkish music., Andthen a 10-year-old boy, dressed like a magician, charmed the audiencewith a short talk on his views on the importance of education, hisspeech punctuated by several quotes from the Holy Quran and theBhagvad Gita.

Raghavendra, a student and a FOSS volunteer described the evening as"thiruvizha", a Tamil word for celebration. "It was beautiful to seeresidents enthusiastically participating in an event – conceptuallystill distant to them -- with a hope that at least it would benefittheir children someday," he said. This community initiative started byfour software professionals may not have solved the daily issuesrelated to urban poverty and subsistence that people in these areagrapple with, but it is a step toward bridging the ubiquitous urbandivide, at least in the realm of the digital world.

"Namma Debian" was released by G. Ramakrishna, editor of a monthlymagazine Hosatu, by handing over the same to the eldest woman in thecommunity. Mr. Ramakrishna spoke passionately about the "human spirit"and how it can conquer the worst of circumstances. This was followedby a brief demonstration of 'Namma Debian', running through games,image manipulation tools etc. This distribution has been localised bythe Free Software community in Karnataka, comprising softwareprofessionals and volunteers from several organisations.

Shedding light on another issue, Vidya, who suffers from partialvisual impairment, spoke on the issues that the visually impaired facewhile using computers. Demonstrating various technical issues with theproprietary tools she uses, she also spoke about the fact thataccessibility tools (such as screen readers and related software, allin the proprietary domain) are extremely expensive. At the end of hereloquent talk, members of the FSMK (Free Software Movement ofKarnataka) committed themselves to working towards solving theseissues by developing better, more accessible and free tools orsoftware in this domain.

This event is among a series of programmes in the run up to theNational Free Software Conference, slated to be held in Bangalore onMarch 20 and 21 at the Central College campus, Bangalore. The Hindu isa media partner for the event.

Posted online: Tuesday , Mar 09, 2010 at 0132 hrsThe Women's Reservation Bill is a powerful normative signal about thedesirability of the empowerment of women. It comes against thebackdrop of profound social change. Women have, by the dint of theircapabilities and efforts, torn down so many barriers. Even inpolitics, at the top echelons, there is a striking story to be told.Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Brinda Karathold top leadership positions in five of the most consequentialpolitical parties. The president of India, speaker of the Lok Sabha,the foreign secretary are all testament to the fact that the normativebarriers to women assuming leadership roles have mostly dissipated;gender ratios in higher education are also telling an encouragingstory. But there are spheres where old boys' networks remainoperative: law and bureaucracy perhaps the most prominent. Butmodernity has also unleashed an appalling contradictory dynamic:declining sex ratio, continuing nutrition discrimination andincreasing violence against women. This bill is a moment in thatlarger history.But while the bill's normative intent is laudable, there is reason tobe a trifle disappointed over the short shrift serious constitutionaland institutional issues have got in the debates. The political debatehas largely been structured around the discourse of power: displacingone set of power holders with another and the resistance this processunleashes. Other opponents of the bill, particularly OBC-basedparties, have expressed worries about other marginalisedconstituencies this bill might disempower. But several importantinstitutional issues have not received political articulation.

The first is simply this. India's electoral system is now becoming anincoherent patchwork of contradictory principles. We are trying to get"proportional" outcomes from a first-past-the-post system. If wegenuinely believe that proportional representation based on ascriptivecharacteristics like caste and gender are the litmus tests ofpolitical legitimacy, then it would have been wiser to state itexplicitly and design an electoral system (through perhaps a listsystem) accordingly. A territorial-based system had its own normativeintegrity, which we have now given up on.

The second issue is the normative questions the rotation ofconstituencies raise. The rotation principle is a peculiar one in ademocracy because it produces democracy without democraticaccountability. You don't, as an individual, now seek the verdict ofthose whom you claimed to serve. Even the rightly heraldedreservations at panchayat level have generated this problem, producingboth an accountability deficit and a weakening of an institution as awhole.

The third issue is a normative one. We know that in terms of how poweroperates in society the idea that we are free and equal as individualsis a fiction. All kinds of hierarchies of gender, caste and classcharacterise the operations of power, and in a healthy polity theseneed to be redressed. Affirmative action is often necessary in thiscontext. But Indian politics has been dangerously close to enshriningother normative propositions that are dangerous for democracy. Thefirst is the equation of identity with reason, where the assumption ispolicies track the identities of those who promulgate them. This isoften true as a matter of fact, but legitimating it into an organisingprinciple is detrimental to the idea of public reason. It needs to beasked whether it befits a free society to restrict the choice ofcandidates available to particular constituencies based on particularidentity. While it could be argued that de facto this choice isrestricted for a whole host of reasons anyway, there is still a greatdeal of difference between a de facto reality and a dejure acceptanceof a principle that it should be restricted.

While the critique of the SP and RJD does not carry much weight,underlying it is a kernel of truth. The question raised by theircritique is this. Let us accept that constituencies need to beempowered through reservations. What classifications are appropriatefor designing quotas? Why not sub-classifications? Why not minorities?Why not more representation for the poor, who seem most disadvantagedin our electoral system? Of course these very parties closed off justthese questions when it came to OBC reservations. They themselvesexemplified what they are now alleging: that the classifications thatare used by the state in quotas are, barring the case of SC/ STs,rarely classifications to empower the weak. They get enacted becausethey are classifications that favour the strong, or newly emerging,not the downtrodden. Other groups will be demanding quotas as well,and our normative basis for saying no to any quota demand isdiminishing. So the enactment of quotas has this ambiguous status: itis as much an exercise in power as it is a sign of justice.

Finally, there are several practical issues. The first is this. As wehave seen with other quotas, representation does not translate intoempowerment. This is for several reasons. In India, normativeacceptance has seldom been a problem; the problem has been the gapbetween normative acceptance and the ability to implement. Partly ithas to do with sticky dynamics of power. We know for instance thatreserved constituencies for SC/ STs produced weak representationbecause they by definition became dependent on the decisive votes ofothers. Strong SC representation emerged post-political mobilisation,not post-reservation. It is an interesting question, the degree towhich reservation de-radicalised demands for justice rather than pushthem further. But in India reservation also brings to closure a deeperquestion: that of ethical responsibilities. Quotas are our justice onthe cheap; as happened with SCs, once we gave them, we absolvedourselves of larger and more difficult ethical questions aboutdiscrimination and so forth. Formal representational equality makes itpolitically harder, not easier, to articulate the case for substantiveequality.

There were also several alternatives, from well thought out voluntaryproposals, to proposals for list systems, to multi-memberconstituencies that might have mitigated some of the institutionalconcerns. The fact that they did not find political space is anothersign than we do not often want to match ends and means.

But the time for all this has past. Quotas will certainly open up thepolitical system in expected and unexpected ways, although theirpolitical effects are indeterminate. Indian democracy has improvisedsolutions, even if they are messy and ad hoc, and this bill is betterthan many other ad hoc improvisations. But while we celebrate thisdesirable normative leap we are about to take, we should just wonder,whether we are celebrating it because we take justice seriously, orbecause we don't take it seriously enough.

Posted online: Monday , Mar 15, 2010 at 0217 hrsThere is a constitutional revolution underway. It has long been in themaking. But its full logic is unfolding now. This new type of regimeit will beget defies classification. It cannot be captured by thecategories bequeathed by those who understood different regime types:Plato or Polybius, Aristotle or Kautilya, Montesquieu or Madison. Thisnew regime is not a monarchy, aristocracy, republic or a democracy. Ithas its distinct identity, values and institutional frame. Behold all,the rise of Quotocracy! Experience the bliss that is this new dawn.The principles behind quotocracy need to be carefully understood. Itarises out of a democracy and often gets confused with it. But make nomistake. Quotocracy is distinct. A democracy values choice. Voters arefree to elect whoever they wish. In a quotocracy, voters by turn areobliged to vote for someone with particular ascriptivecharacteristics. In a democracy, a general will is possible. Inprinciple people can reason in terms that take all relevant reasonsinto consideration and are good for all. In a quotocracy, bydefinition there are only particular reasons and interests: men formen, women for women, caste for caste. A general will is a conceptualimpossibility.

Montesquieu said each regime has a principle that sustains its bestform. In despotism it is fear, in aristocracy it is honour, inrepublics it is virtue. Quotocracy has its own principle: victimhood.No quotocracy can be sustained without it. The currency of new claimsis the narrative of hurt. The axis of competition is also victimhood:those who do not get that status are left most aggrieved. Theidentification of each new victim group escalates the race foridentifying the next.

Democracies occasionally make exceptions to redress gross injustice.In a quotocracy, the exception is the norm. OBCs want quotas forthemselves, but not for women. Women want for themselves, but not forOBCs. And no one wants for Muslims. Some say, "Why do women needquotas? Why don't parties give tickets?" But in a quotocracy thisquestion is not legitimate. However, those who deny the legitimacy ofthis question use this same argument when the demand for sub-quotas ismade. "Why not give OBC women tickets under the quota?" But don'tconfuse this with hypocrisy. Hypocrisy can exist only in a democracy,when ideals do not match reality. In a quotocracy, exception is thenorm.

Democracies have ideological contention: between left and right,liberty and equality, secular and religious. Quotocracy has consensus:all divisions between left, right and centre are dissolved by quota.And those who oppose quotas are accused of treason. In a way there isjustice to this charge. After all, in quotocracy, opposing quota islike subverting a regime. Quotocracy creates a new distinction betweenpublic and private. Privately you may oppose quota, but youpolitically act on that belief at your own peril.

Quotocracy has its own conception of justice. It is not equality, orcapability or fitness or fairness. It is simple arithmetic: 33 here,22 there, 50 for the rest. And since arithmetic can be complicatedthere is no point doing fractions and subdivisions. Simple quota isjust what justice is. In a democracy, where you came from shouldmatter less than where you are going. It seeks to make de jure rightsand privileges we have less and less dependent upon our identity. Aquotocracy is the reverse. It makes de jure rights dependent uponidentity. A democracy prizes individuality (not to be confused withits bad cousin, individualism). Quotocracy prizes group think. You areyour group. Democracy values self-identification. You should bewhatever you wish to or choose to be or name yourself. Quotocracy ispremised upon ascription. You are what the state certificate says youare: SC/ ST or OBC. You can be this and no other. Democracy issuspicious giving the state power to construct identities. Quotocracycreates new identities by using state power to create incentives.

A quotocracy has a new separation of powers. OBCs get reservation injobs and education but don't deserve it in politics. Women can get itin Lok Sabha but not Rajya Sabha. Women get reservation in politicsbut don't get it in jobs. In a quotocracy, legislation andadministration are also confused. Panchayats are equated with supremelaw making bodies forgetting that they have different functions.

Quotocracy also has its own logic of mystification. Tocqueville saidthat in a democracy the myth of formal equality can disguisesubstantive inequality. In a quotocracy, the fact that selectindividuals from some communities are empowered is considered asempowering the community. And this mystification is justified as acompensation for democracy's mystification. Since in a democracy thereis a gap between formal and substantive equality, in a quotocracy wecan empower elites within communities with impunity and call itempowerment for all.

Democracy strives for deliberation. For quotocracy getting numbersright is paramount. Democracy is bound by constitutionalism. It ishemmed in by a diversity of values. Quotocracy makes constitutionalismsubordinate to itself. So what if some states exceed 50 per cent andthe courts for fear are unable to pronounce a verdict. Quotocracyredefines the scale of values: excellence is a ruse for domination,self-reliance a tactic for injustice and so forth.

Democracy thrives on historical traditions associated with itsfounding. A quotocracy thrives on historical amnesia. The British usedtwo tactics: divide and rule. And they said that we were infantsbecause we could not think outside of caste and community. We wereincapable of self-government. Quotocracy likes divide and rule. And italso thinks we are incapable of self-government. Our identities needto be boxed. Our founders worked hard to combat ascriptive identities.They rejected two-nation theories, separate electorates, narcissism ofpartial groups, communal representation, caste censuses. The logic ofquotocracy is to bring them back. Democracy seeks to unite despitedifferences. Quotocracy seeks to divide despite commonalities.

But democracy and quotocracy have this in common: they are nevercomplete. They are always a work in progress. Democracy has tocontinually dissolve hierarchy. Quotocracy has to continually createnew quotas. In a democracy, all animals are equal but some more equalthan others. In a quotocracy, some deprived groups will get theirdeprivations recognised more than others.

Quotocracy is truly revolutionary. Make no mistake about it. It isdeeper than most revolutions because it needs a new moral vocabulary.And it needs a new political science to understand it. Prepare for theAge of Quotocracy.